Column: How to Manage Frustration When Researching Your Family Tree

Between today and Wednesday, my genealogy column, Roots to the Past, is available in the following Atlantic Canada newspapers:

Saturday: The Citizen (Amherst)

Saturday: Times & Transcript (Moncton)

Wednesday: The Lunenburg County Progress Bulletin (Lunenburg County)

Title: How to Manage Frustration When Researching Your Family Tree

Snippet: Frustration. It can stall us, cause us to walk away, and compel us to say and do things we normally wouldn’t. It can also make us work harder to obtain our goals and force us out of our comfort zone. At times, the energy created by frustration can be detrimental. Other times, it can fuel success.

Frustration is a word genealogists know well. Last week a friend who recently delved into her family tree contacted me to share her plight. She’d found a lot of basic information, but a few simple pieces of her puzzle were beyond her reach. After searching many records, she became frustrated with the inability to find information from the early 1900s.

I share in her frustration. Earlier this week, I attempted to once again find basic information—maiden name, ethnic origin—on my great great-grandmother born in the early 1800s. The only data I had on her was her first name. I tried different avenues to find the information without luck. After ten hours of searching and coming up empty handed, I decided it was time for a break.